The University of Southern Mississippi released a statement Wednesday after former Baylor head football coach Art Briles was on campus Monday, interviewing for a position on the Southern Miss football coaching staff.

According to the Sun Herald, Briles interviewed for the team's vacant offensive coordinator position.

USM informed Briles he is no longer a candidate for the position, Southern Miss President Rodney Bennett and Interim Athletic Director Jeff Mitchell said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

"We have met with Art Briles regarding a position with the Southern Miss football program," the statement read. "Following that meeting, we informed him that he is not a candidate. The University will have no further comment on this matter."

Shortly after Southern Miss released its statement on Briles, USM head coach Jay Hopson released a statement of his own through college football writer Brett McMurphy. The statement read as follows:

“"Although I respect the decision of Dr. Rodney Bennett, I disagree with it. I am so grateful for the grace and forgiveness God gives me which allows me to inherit his kingdom, which I do not deserve. I have interviewed for an assistant position at Southern Miss and I believe he is a man who believes a second chance. He is a man that seemed sincere and humble in his interview and personally he committed no crime. He may not have acted in the proper protocol but that would be my JOB at Southern Miss. He was interviewing for an assistant position even thought I believe he will be a head coach at a major program in the near future. However, I believe he is a man who does love the Lord and deserves a second chance. He has been banned from a job in college football for three years and has been punished. I understand both sides have opinions, this is just mine."”

Southern Miss coach Jay Hopson

Baylor fired Briles in May 2016 after a third-party law firm's investigation into misconduct in the athletic department found that football coaches failed to report complaints against players.

Baylor football players were accused of at least 52 known acts of rape allegedly committed by at least 31 different players in five years during Briles' tenure as head coach, according to a lawsuit.

Since being fired at Baylor, Briles was briefly hired as an assistant coach for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL but was quickly fired after the backlash of his hiring became too severe. In August 2018, Briles was hired as the head coach of a football team in Florence, Italy for the 2019 season.